By Ayo Ademiluyi
Quite recently, the Ayuba-Wabba-led
faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) held its inaugural National
Executive Committee meeting on 6th August, 2015. In published
advertorials in widely-read Nigerian newspapers, the Wabba-led NLC NEC
communicated resolutions reached at the meeting (see Guardian Newspaper,
Friday, 14th August, 2015).
On the failure of some state
governments to pay the salaries of their workers, the NEC absolved the Federal
Government of blame and ascribed the failure to “mismanagement and wrong
prioritization” by the State Governors. It resolved to
“mobilise industrial union
Presidents and General Secretaries to all the states owing three or more months
in salaries, to ensure that indebted states are compelled to pay workers their
legitimate earnings”. This is nothing but running away from mobilizing a
properly-organised national mass action of workers both in affected states and
nationally against these culpable Governors. It is equally a grand attempt to
embark on piecemeal actions at the face of an iceberg!
On minimum wage, the Wabba-led NEC
observed that the Minimum Wage Act 2011 has reached its statutory five-year mark
for review and it mandated its national leadership to propose a new minimum
wage to the Federal Government for negotiation by the tripartite constituents
of government, employers and organized labour. It would be recalled that the
Joe-Ajaero-led NLC has already proposed a N90,000 new minimum wage, but it has
not advanced a clear strategy on how it intend to fight for it.
The Wabba-led NLC NEC also resolved
for a “National Day of Action against Corruption and for Good Governance” and
mandated its national leadership to mobilise for it as a “one-day national
protest march” which will be “simultaneously across the country”. It also stated that the aim of the national
protest march is to “draw attention of
…(the) political leadership at all levels that ….we as a country….cannot put up
with the recklessness of our political elite”. While it is appreciated that the
workers’ movement return to the tradition of mass struggle, the perspective and
strategy behind the upcoming national protest march is also bereft of a comprehensive
understanding of the fact that corruption is embedded in the overall capitalist
system and that it is only when workers struggle collectively to overthrow
capitalism that corruption can be ended. Socialists would participate in such a
“national protest march” and challenge the labour leaders to call a 24-hour
nationwide warning strike on unpaid salaries, massive looting and for a new
national minimum wage.
On the political side, the Wabba-led
NEC resolved to revitalize the Labour Party. However, the fact that the planned
“holistic revitalization and revival of the party” is based on the recent
acquisition of the original certificate of the party from the former National
Chairman of the Labour Party, Dan Iwuanyanwu also begs the question of how the
“revitalization” can be achieved. It would be recalled that the Wabba-led NEC
has given the said Original Ceritificate to the SalisuMuhammed-led Caretaker
Committee, which was set up by the out-gone Abdulwaheed Omar’s leadership.
An overview of these resolutions
raises important issues on the current state of the workers’ movement vis-a-vis
the character of the current crop of labour leaders, especially under the
current Buhari regime. Genuine socialists and working class activists need to engage
these issues in the overall interests
of the working class movement.
UNPAID SALARIESAND WORSENING IMPACT OF DISUNITY OF THE TRADE
UNION MOVEMENT
Nothing exposes the nonchalant
attitude of the current crop of labour leaders to the welfare of their
rank-and-file than the spate of unpaid salaries that is ravaging workers in
different states. While the Wabba-led faction, at first, which commands a large
chunk of the public-sector trade unions ordered the state congresses in the
respective states where the Governors were defaulting to undertake strikes on
their own, it failed to provide a lead for a nationwide strike action that
could have brought the full weight of the labour movement to bear on the issue.
The failure of a coherent nationwide
mass mobilization against the defaulting Governors was also as a result of the
negative impact of the disunity within the trade union movement based on the
ego-tripping factionalisation of the
workers’ movement by the labour leaders. The factionalisation, in itself is
another sad tale of the state of the workers’ movement in Nigeria, with
shambolic labour leaders, who are not prepared to genuinely defend the
interests of their rank-and-file members.
Recently, it was reported in the
mass media that the issue of the unpaid salaries led to fresh attempts to find
a united voice between the Joe-Ajaero and Wabba-led factions. It was even
reported that as a result of the unification moves initiated by the labour
veterans, there are plans to hold Joint National Executive Committees and
Central Working Committees to plan joint actions. It remains another issue how
far these efforts have yielded fruits, given the numerous attempts to unify the
two factions after the crisis-ridden 11th National Delegates’
Conference, held earlier in February, 2015.
However, it is clear that genuine
socialists and working class activists must redouble the efforts to build cells
of working class cadres within the rank-and-file of the workers’ movement with
rounded-out revolutionary perspectives that can fight to reclaim the trade
union movement as a united mass working class organization with a
democratically-controlled and genuine leadership that can fight for the genuine
interests of the working class people.
It is equally important, despite the
prevarications of the leaderships of both factions of the Nigeria Labour
Congress to build pressure from below with the call for a 24-hour nationwide
strike action as the urgent and immediate step to force the defaulting
Governors to pay their workers in their respective states. Such a one-day
warning strike would serve an initial notice on the defaulting Governors that
the entire labour movement would not take the struggle lightly.
WHAT GENUINE STRATEGY TO FIGHT FOR A NEW NATIONAL MINIMUM
WAGE?
Another crucial issue is the growing
demand for a new national minimum wage. Given that the five-year period for the
N18,000 minimum wage is due for renewal, it is also clear that the growing
inflation rate has made the minimum wage a mincemeat. While the Joe Ajaero-led faction has demanded
a new N90,000 minimum wage, the Wabba-led faction has been mandated by its NEC
to draw a proposal for a negotiation of a new national minimum wage for submission
on the Federal Government.
What is missing from the statements
and declarations of both factions is a clear and coherent strategy to fight for
a new national minimum wage. The current N18,000 minimum wage has not been
implemented by most state governments without any resistance mobilised by the
labour leaders.
The current approach to the demand a
new national minimum wage also shrinks of the lethargic approach of the labour
leaders to waging a serious struggle on minimum wage. A genuine struggle for a new national minimum
wage would have to be devoid of illusions that the Federal and State Government
would agree or implement it by law but by mass actions with the concurrent
demand that no single worker should be retrenched by virtue of the new national
minimum wage.
STRUGGLE FOR THE CONTROL OF LABOUR PARTY AND THE QUEST FOR A
GENUINE WORKING PEOPLE’S POLITICAL ALTERNATIVE
One other interesting development is
the ongoing struggle for the control of the Labour Party between the Wabba-led
faction and the Labour Party leadership. The NEC of the Wabba-led faction
resolved to position the party to “articulate and advance working class perspectives on the wider
political and economic situation in the country”. This is pursuant to the
receipt of the original certificate of registration of the party by the
Wabba-led faction from Dan Iwuanyanwu, the former National Chairman of the
party, which it has handed over to the SalisuMuhammed-led Caretaker Committee
on Labour Party, instituted by the Omar leadership.
However, the Labour Party leadership,
inaugurated at the last National Convention of the party has gone to town
vowing to resist the takeover of the party by the Wabba-led NLC faction. It has
correctly stated that it the democratically-elected leadership by the
membership of the party and equally the leadership that is properly recognised
by the Independent National Electoral Commission. It also hinted that it will
take out contempt proceedings against the Wabba-led NLC faction based on the
fact that there is an ongoing court matter against the Salisu Muhammed faction
and the Nigeria Labour Congress in particular.
Based on Nigerian electoral law that
recognizes individual membership of political parties and does not accommodate
affiliate membership, it remains a puzzle how far the Wabba-led faction can go
in achieving its aim. Equally, the failure of the labour leaders to take up
their allotted seats on the National Executive Committee of the party and
mobilise their members into the Labour Party after registering the party
deprive them of any serious base within the party that can constitute a
numerical challenge in the National Convention of the party, which elected the
present national leadership of the Labour Party. Added to this is the fact that
the Independent National Electoral Commission recognizes the present Labour
Party leadership as such having observed
the National Convention which elected the current leadership in accordance with
law.
Without holding brief for the Labour
Party leadership, the astounding reality is that the Wabba-led faction is on a
wild goose chase with its professed control of the party with the possession of
the original certificate of registration of the party. In the given
circumstances, where the Labour Party leadership presses its arguments before
the court of law, the Wabba-led faction may find itself in a situation to
either engage in an out-of-court settlement with the Labour Party leadership or
surrender the original certificate of registration.
The most important issue to be drawn
from the entire scenario is the reality of the challenge of building a genuine
working people’s political alternative within the broader trade union movement.
It is completely another tale of the
current state of the Labour Party and the character of the approach of the
labour leaders towards it.
A genuine approach to build a
genuine working people’s political alternative would entail a conscious
mobilization of the rank-and-file of the workers’ movement on a clear programme
to build a democratically-run political movement funded by the million of
workers and not the millionaire looters that will bid for power on a socialist
programme. The combustive events of the coming period would place this boldly
on the agenda. While the opportunities to reclaim the Labour Party as such a
genuine working class political movement is quite narrow, genuine socialists
would keep up the campaign for such a genuine working people’s political
alternative.
The Socialist Party of Nigeria, initiated by the Democratic
Socialist Movement and other working class forces, when eventually registered
by the Independent National Electoral Commission, would serve as a “striking
example” within the broader trade union movement of the genuine approach in
building a wider genuine working
people’s political alternative. It will espouse a clear socialist
programme and run working class candidates in elections without ties to big
business and the bourgeois political elite. Those elected on the
platform of SPN will earn working class wages, all elected and appointed
members will live in the communities. Genuine socialists, while battling for the registration of
the Labour Party would continue the campaign for a genuine working people’s
political alternative.
